


the forest grew (and so did we)

by sugaquills



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Lore - Freeform, a rampant plot bunny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-19 01:02:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14863694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugaquills/pseuds/sugaquills
Summary: The Junimo have been around since the first tree sprouted, and they will remain until the last tree dies. They are the spirits of this forest, guardians whose only purpose is to watch over their valley and keep Theirs safe.





	the forest grew (and so did we)

The Junimo have been around since the first tree sprouted, and they will remain until the last tree dies. They are the spirits of this forest, guardians whose only purpose is to watch over their valley and keep Theirs safe. And they have their Blessed, those special people whose eyes see stars and whose hearts hold secrets.

But something about this Blessed is special.

Her name is Sally. She is twenty-one, and young, and hopeful. Her eyes hold the hope of the future and her heart falls in love too easy. The Junimo recognise her; she holds that signature of her grandfather, the man who once could see them, and that lets the Junimo See her.

Sally has this... aura, about her. Something bright and warm, a mix of hot chocolate and fiddlehead ferns and warm amber. It draws the Junimo in and keeps them ensnared, entranced. Everyone has an aura, of course, all shades of pink and green and blue, but there is nothing so captivating as Sally's.

 

The forest grows, and so do they. At first the Junimo are small and naive. But they grow with their forest, grow wiser and stronger and ever more ancient. But they are lonely. That is the curse of the forest spirits.

Nobody can see them. Whenever a human comes to their forest, it leads to destruction and violence, with nobody to stop them. So they seal off their valley - a small little signature, a fine tuned reception to nature, and the person will be allowed in.

The Junimo do not want their forest to hurt.

 

Sally feels like she is being watched. When she turns, little glowing eyes peek out of the hut in the community centre, and she unconsicously relaxes. It's just the Junimo, those odd little forest spirits that nobody seems to notice expect her. It blinks out at her.

"Hello," she whispers. "I'm Sally."

The Junimo blinks. Little glowing runes float in the air above her. Sally tries to read them, but to no avail. She squints. It blinks again, and the runes change from runic to the standard English she knows.

"I'm Maple," it says.

Sally smiles. She thinks she's made a friend.

 

The Junimo are the foundation of the valley. They keep nature in balance, spread the seeds of the trees, persuade the grass to grow and the vegetables to take root. The Junimo keep the temperatures right and the winds changing and the fish spinning in the lake. The Junimo protect those they claim as Theirs.

But they are not infalliable. They can fail, and that failure will stick with them. And they will protect Theirs all the more for it.

 

Sally cleans up Moon Leaf Farm to the best of her ability. She cuts up all the loose branches and piles them up just outside her house, firewood she can use in winter. She hacks at the stumps all across the farm and gathers chests full of hardwood. She breaks down rocks and cuts away grass and cleans all of the trash out of the river.

And she builds the Junimos a home.

Sally knows the Community Center is not theirs. They have told her that they are the spirits of the forest, that the trees live within them, that they will be around as long as the forest is. So she gives them their own place.

The Junimos are thankful, she thinks.

 

"What do you think of the Junimo?" Sally asks Shane.

He blinks and sighs. "I don't know. They just... they're meant to protect us, right? Keep the valley safe. But I just feel so sad all the time, you know. And the alcohol doesn't help, but... I can't break that habit. And I can't get Jas what she wants, because I just spend all my money on beer and it just makes me feel so goddamn useless."

She doesn't say anything. She just tries to be a good shoulder for Shane to lean on, and hopes it can be enough.

 

"Keep him safe?" Sally asks Maple. The little Junimo has long become one of her closest friends and she knows that it will do its best to keep Shane safe. She knows she can trust Maple to do her best, and help Shane, too. 

"I will," Maple promises her.

 

The Junimo find that they have become... negligent, almost, over the last few centuries. But the newborn Maple wants to help that human, and is setting the perfect example for them to follow. So they change.

 

When they were young and foolish, the Junimo thought that sealing off the valley would keep their forest safest. Now they can see that all it did was isolate them. But now the valley is open, seal broken, bus repaired. The valley is growing.

And so are they.


End file.
